Tag: Youth Training

As a part of their endeavour to promote elite football talents and train players from a young age, Bengaluru FC hosted a press conference earlier this week to announce their plans of setting up a residential academy at the JSW Township in Vijayanagar, Bellary. COO Mustafa Ghouse, CTO Mandar Tamhane and newly appointed Head of Youth Development, John Kila, spoke to the press from the club’s offices at Bangalore Football Stadium.

The club will scout for talent in Bengaluru, Kerala, Mizoram, Punjab and Chandigarh. Currently, they are only looking for youth in the Under-16 and Under-18 age categories. Those players who display exceptional talent during the first round of trials will be shortlisted, and will have to undergo a final selection, before the chosen candidates will relocate to the academy in Vijayanagar. At the academy, the selected youth will be provided with accommodation, education and nutrition at no cost with this fully-funded youth development programme overseen by Dutchman, John Kila.

Every young footballer dreams about making it to the big leagues. Every child starts playing football as a hobby, but for some, football becomes their whole life. U Dream Football is a program that helps those individuals who want to make it big in the football world. The program works under the guidance of Bundesliga and in association with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. The U Dream Football program started in 2014 to scout for talented individuals who were Under-15, but had a flair for football. After screening more than 10,000 students in over 800 schools across the country, program coaches from Germany shortlisted 15 of India’s finest U-15 footballers, and took them to Germany earlier this year to train at the club’s youth training academy in Zuzenhausen for the next 6 years.